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What Nick Saban can teach us about Church Vitality

Not much of anybody thinks of Nick Saban as a go to guy
for church health issues. Today, in fact, many UGA Bulldog fans are picturing
him with horns and a pitchfork. But as I watched him lead the University of
Alabama to yet another NCAAF National Championship, I was impressed that there
are definitely transferable principles that could help in the turnaround
journey for declining churches. At halftime, trailing 13-0, Saban decided to
bench his starting quarterback Jalen Hurts and go to his freshman left-hander Tua
Tagovailoa to jump start a faltering offense. It was a decision that turned the
tide, and I woke up today, the morning after “the Natty” thinking about how it
relates to leadership in struggling churches.

Saban cared about
bringing his team back from a deficit.

He was urgent and passionate about changing the situation in the
game. He wasn’t content with the status quo. His urgency was completely appropriate
to his situation. Because there isn’t a visible clock, ticking down the end for
our churches we can become laissez-faire. Decline and church closure happen
gradually. It can take years and we can become complacent and lose sight of how
much we need to be people of action NOW!

Saban probably cares a lot about Jalen Hurts, but his priority wasn't
protecting his feelings.

It could not have been easy to pull QB Jalen Hurts from that game.
It had to be embarrassing to the young man. The reality was, though, that he
lacked the specific skills that were needed in those circumstances to stage a
comeback. I think many of the decisions that we don’t make to give our
churches the opportunity to comeback are driven by fear of hurting someone’s
feelings. The relational realities keep us from pulling the trigger on
important strategic steps. We absolutely know that if we make decisions that
are in the best interest of the long term health of the church there will be
some people who will have their feelings hurt, so we don’t act.

Saban assessed the truth about the situation and made a difficult decision.

Nick Saban thought about his
decision. He was thoughtfully prepared. I heard this morning on sports
talk radio that he had the freshman QB Tua Tagovailoa taking snaps with
the first team offense to prepare for the possibility that he might enter the
game. One thing is certain: Saban absolutely knew that he is in the decision
making business. Assessment and decision making are also the territory of
Biblical leaders—not just the pastor, but other church leaders as well. A leader
is anyone who exerts influence over others. People who ought to be guiding
decision making processes in churches should be actively committed to
thoughtful, strategic thinking and dialogue. In that way, the when the church
acts it will be in the aftermath of thoughtful, (hopefully prayerful) intentional
behaviors.

Saban is passionately committed to the
reason he was brought to Alabama: winning championships. He knew his
"why".

Nick Saban understands his bottom line. He has demonstrated this
by winning 6 NCAAF National Championships with two different programs. The
University of Alabama employs Nick Saban to recruit, train and deploy a team
that will routinely compete and win at the highest possible level of college
football. That is what he wakes up for professionally every day. I think churches often forget their “why.” I’m
not the first person to point this out. It’s just obvious in this discussion.* The
longer a local church exists in a state of decline, the more likely it will be
to grow inwardly focused and forget that it primarily exists to know and glorify
God through Christ, AND to reach and teach others to do the same.

Saban fully expected
a turnaround to happen. He didn't lose hope!

Napoleon reportedly said, “A leader is a dealer in hope!” I know
that often we are working in overwhelmingly difficult church environments or
communities that feel burned over and infertile. We must meditate often on 1
Corinthians 15:58 and Galatians 6:9. A leader must cultivate a culture of hope.

Saban was open to
any reasonable option that would help his team win. He put all the options on
the table.

This dovetails with his willingness to put the interest of
the team above the interest of a particular player. Yes, I know we have to be
careful about taking a strictly Machiavellian approach to leading. But what I
am talking about here is positive, active creativity. Bring all the crazy ideas
to the table. Weed through them. Today a declining church (and particularly one
in leadership transition) ought to talk about every possible option going
forward. Talk about merger. Talk about a strategic partnership with healthier
church. Talk about sharing a minister with another congregation. Talk about the
realities coming if nothing changes. Ask: “What stands in the way of us doing
what we know is best? Why can't we?”

Saban took a huge
risk:

Today as armchair quarterbacks, we know that it was the right
decision. But last night it was a risk. Paul Chappell said, "Today's
churches are either risk taking, care taking, or undertaking." If we want
to reach the goal, we can't play not to lose. We have to take risks rather than playing it safe. Taking risks requires courage. Sometimes just having a
difficult conversation as a congregation requires courage. Being willing to
move past an outdated way of approaching the work of ministry requires courage.

Conclusion – I know that there are
limits to how far the analogy of coaching a college football team can be taken
in comparison to leading local churches. But I also know that we need the
passion, urgency and willingness to turn things around. I am praying that many
churches experience a comeback so that God is glorified and the world is
blessed!

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